On May 3, 1985, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (the "CPSC") received a petition requesting the CPSC to begin a rulemaking proceeding to establish requirements applicable to disposable lighters to make such products child-resistant. The petition asserted, among other things, that disposable lighters have been used by children to start fires which have resulted in serious burn injuries and requested the CPSC to issue a rule applicable to disposable lighters which would require more applied pressure to activate such lighters or a multiple-step method for lighting them similar to the procedure required to open some child-resistant packaging.
National fire estimates for the period 1980-1985, indicated that, annually, children playing with cigarette lighters caused on average 7,800 fires resulting in 120 deaths and 750 injuries. Analysis of 277 fire incidents involving children playing with cigarette lighters revealed, among other things, that disposable butane lighters, which account for approximately 95% of the more than 500 million cigarette lighters purchased annually in the United States, were implicated in 96% of those fires in which the type of lighter could be determined, and that the children who operated the lighters were younger than 6 years old--most were 3 or 4 years old. The CPSC is presently engaged in a rulemaking proceeding to establish requirements applicable to cigarette lighters to make them resistant to operation by children.
The present invention provides a child-resistant disposable lighter having a multiple-step mode of operation.
1. Field of the Invention
A common characteristic of the lighters in widest use and consequently most often involved in the fires that of present concern is the presence of a pushbutton that, when depressed, opens valve means that releases the fuel. The most common form of such lighters includes a nonrefillable fuel compartment containing liquid butane under pressure, valve means communicating with the fuel compartment for release of the liquid butane in a gaseous state, a lever the forward end of which is engaged with the valve means and the rearward end of which forms a pushbutton that is biased by spring means maintaining the pushbutton at a given normal elevation--the pushbutton being depressible against the resistance of such spring bias to open the valve means for release of the butane gas, and an ignition system comprising a thumb-operated flint wheel abrading a flint that produces sparks directed toward a nozzle element of the valve means.
This inventor performed an experiment with such a lighter the purpose of which was to determine the necessity of including means covering or locking the flint wheel as part of a child-resistance system--if not, economies could be effected that would increase the likelihood of a child-resistant disposable lighter being manufactured.
For purposes of the experiment, the pushbutton was jammed so that it could not be depressed. A fragment of tissue paper was held between the flint and nozzle element of the valve means and the flint wheel rotated repeatedly. Although directly in the stream of sparks the tissue paper did not catch fire. The conclusion was drawn that since, at least in this experiment, the sparks were unable to ignite tissue paper, it is unlikely that the fires that are of present concern are caused by the sparks per se, and that, therefore, the critical factor must be the pushbutton, the free depressibility of which enables children to produce a flame to cause a fire.
Unlike the flint wheel which generally is more resistive and relatively irritating to operate, it presently requires only light pressure and children find it fun to depress the pushbutton. Even the youngest child not interested in rotating the flint wheel can effect a prolonged release of the combustible gas that may find a source of ignition; and such has occurred in at least one reported incident, with unfortunate consequences.
Clearly, therefore, a child-resistant lighter must provide the pushbutton normally locked and requiring the taking of a prerequisite action not obvious to children in the critical age group in order to unlock the pushbutton.
Accordingly, the field of the present invention pertains generally to lighters having a pushbutton that, when depressed, opens valve means that releases the fuel. Within such field, the invention provides safety means providing the pushbutton normally locked and requiring the user to effect a double-action manipulation of a safety release member (studies have shown that double-action manipulations easily performed by an adult are likely to frustrate young children), the safety release member being located at the side of the lighter where it is substantially concealed during operation of the lighter by an adult and the manipulation performed on the safety release member will be difficult for an observant child to follow.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although the present improvement is illustrated in the context of that type of lighter most often implicated in the fires that are of present concern, it will be obvious that such improvement is applicable to any lighter wherein the fuel is released in response to depression of a pushbutton.
Three specifically different constructions of disposable butane lighters are known; next referred to as first, second and third types. The first and second types are similar to the extent that the pushbutton element is formed by the rearward end of a pivotally mounted lever the forward end of which is engaged with a nozzle element of the valve means, and, in each case, ignition of the released fuel is effected by rotating a flint wheel against a flint. The distinction between such first and second types pertains to the placement of a spring that biases the valve means normally closed and biases the pushbutton to maintain its normal elevation. The third provides a true pushbutton (meaning that it moves straight up and down) and utilizes an electrical ignition system that is actuated in response to and simultaneously with depression of the pushbutton.
In the first type, the spring extends between the wall structure forming the fuel compartment and the underside of the pushbutton and thereby acts directly upon the pushbutton to push it upwardly, and the pushbutton, through its engagement with the nozzle, keeps the valve means normally closed. The nozzle is otherwise freely movable within a main body portion of the valve means; such main body portion of the valve means being molded integrally with the wall structure forming the fuel compartment. The nozzle is permanently attached to the forward end of the lever and is thereby withdrawable from such main body portion together with the lever (i.e., if one were to remove the pushbutton, the nozzle would come with it).
In the second type, the main body portion of the valve means is molded as a distinct subassembly that is later fixed into place within the wall structure forming the fuel compartment. In this instance, the spring is incorporated within the main body portion of the valve means in an arrangement whereby the nozzle is biased closed and is not removable from such main body portion. The forward end of the lever is snapped onto and is likewise removable from the nozzle without affecting the spring-biased closure of the nozzle. In this second type it is the nozzle element, by virtue of the spring incorporated within the main body portion of the valve means, that biases the pushbutton toward its normal elevation.
Since, in the second type described above, the spring is not placed at the underside of the pushbutton, such underside surface is free. Conventionally, no use is made of such underside surface. When the pushbutton is depressed, its underside surface lowers into a recess provided in the wall structure of the fuel compartment. The second type has an advantage for present purposes in that, since the spring is not placed at the underside of the pushbutton, the underside of the pushbutton is available for modification and use as herein disclosed and thereby enables the provision of a child-resistant lighter according to the present invention that is as slim as the first type of lighter and almost as slim as the second type. For that reason, the present improvement is illustrated in the context of such second type of lighter. (The original application, Ser. No. 07/164,329, shows the improvement embodied in the first type of lighter and the resultant increase in width.)
The invention requires the provision of a second compartment appended to but otherwise distinct from the fuel compartment, such second compartment having an open upper end. The third type of lighter referred to above provides such a compartment, however, it is used to contain a telescoping structure the upper portion of which has a pushbutton fixed to it and the lower portion of which contains a spring and an electrical device that generates an electrical spark in response to depression of the pushbutton. Depression of the pushbutton partially compresses the telescoping sections against the resistance of the spring contained therein, the spring returning the pushbutton to its normal elevation upon release of the pushbutton. In response to depression of the pushbutton, the valve means is opened for release of fuel and at the same time the electrical spark generated arcs over to the nozzle thereby igniting the released gas to produce the flame.
For present purposes it is immaterial whether the lighter utilizes a true pushbutton as in the third type of lighter last described, or a pushbutton that is formed as one end of a lever as in the first and second types of lighters described above. Since, within the context of the present invention, there is no functional distinction between the two types of pushbuttons (and accordingly, the alternative expression "lever or pushbutton" would be permissible to recite in the appended claims), in order to precisely image the element referred to, the term "pushbutton" is recited in the claims and therein refers to a pushbutton formed as one end of a lever and thereby moves arcuately, as well to as a true pushbutton that moves straight up and down.
Finally, the following patents were cited with respect to the original application: U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,542, which pertains to a novelty or "joke" lighter wherein the pushbutton becomes locked in the depressed position for continuous release of a foam-like substance; U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,943, which pertains to a lighter having its lever blocked by a tab that prevents depression of the lever until such tab is broken away subsequent to purchase (to preclude prior accidental depression); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,351, which pertains to a pushbutton-type nozzle for a spray container wherein improved stop means is provided for limiting rotation of the pushbutton between alternate dispensing and nondispensing positions.
No other relevant prior art is known.